Catfish
by Sophia Anne Moore
Summary: Amateur investigators Nev and Max help young single mom Gabriella discover the truth behind a mysterious connection.
1. Help

**A/N: This High School Musical story was inspired by and features characters from the MTV television show _Catfish_ , but you do not have to be familiar with the show to understand this story. ****There will be another Wildcat besides Gabriella, but I am choosing to only tag her since the other character's identity is part of the mystery. You'll see what I mean.** **Enjoy!**

* * *

Catfish

 **Help**

The cameraman followed Nev as he tiptoed down the hallway and approached the hotel room. Nev reached into his pocket and took out a room key and quietly slid the piece of plastic into the mechanical handle. The little light flashed green and he motioned for the cameraman to follow him. He crept into the room, holding up his water gun and taking aim at his unconscious victim.

"Max!" Nev yelled out, "Wakey, wakey!" He dosed Max with a blast of cold water.

"Oh my God!" Max shot up in his bed. He looked around the room in panic and confusion before finding Nev and the water gun. He eyed the object quizzically and asked, "Where did you get a water gun from?"

"Your worst nightmares!" Nev quickly pumped the device and served Max another blast of water.

Max dove towards the end of the bed and cupped his hands over the end of the gun. "Who let him have this?" He asked the crew.

"I just wanted to help you clean off!" Nev said.

Max shook his head disapprovingly and said, "I will get you back for this, Nev. You just wait."

"Get up," Nev shook Max, "We have lives to change!"

…

Nev plopped down at the desk and immediately began scrolling through the countless messages, "What do we have in the inbox today?" He murmured to himself.

Max peered above the small camera he had on the computer and asked, "You mean what will we _reel_ in?"

"Don't make me get that water gun back out."

"That's fair," Max chuckled. "You know, I deserve it after that."

"Ooh!" Nev clapped his hands together excitedly. "Here's one from Gabriella. It says: Dear Nev and Max, I'm a twenty four year old single mother of two twin boys living in San Jose, California. Two years ago, I received a friend request from a stranger by the name of Noah Lewis. I didn't recognize him, but I accepted the request anyways. We started messaging and my life completely changed. I fell hard for this guy. He was always so loving and caring. We would talk well into the night on the phone, but never on video." Nev paused to give the camera a suspicious glance. He continued reading; "We made plans to finally meet up in person about three months ago after two years of talking online. When the day finally came, he didn't show. I was so devastated. I couldn't bring myself to speak to him about it, but he didn't reach out, either. I can't believe that he would end things like this. Worse yet, I can't even be certain that it's really over. I've been stuck in this relationship limbo for three months too long. I need to know why he didn't show up. I need to know if we're over. Most importantly, I need to know if what I felt and if the person I was talking to was real or not. I hope you guys can help me. Gabriella."

"Wow!" Max said, "Should we reach out to her? Should we give her a ring?"

"Totally," Nev rapidly typed out a message to Gabriella within a few minutes, was waiting for her to pick up the Skype call.

A beautiful brunette woman sitting in an office chair with a couple of kids running around in the background suddenly appeared on their screen. "Hello!" The woman greeted the duo.

Nev and Max said, "Hey!"

"Oh my gosh, I can't believe I'm really talking to you guys!" Gabriella said. "Hold on," she yelled over her shoulder to the kids, "Stop it with the nerf guns right now or you won't see them for a week!"

One of the boys wearing a cowboy hat and wielding a plastic sword ushered the other one out of the room and slammed the door shut behind him.

She redirected her attention back to the guys on her screen. "Sorry about that. It's hard raising two six year olds."

Max said, "It's alright."

Nev asked, "What are their names?"

"They're Benjamin and Alexander." Gabriella smiled.

"Whoa!" Max said, "Sophisticated."

Nev said, "Let's talk about you and this mystery man. How did you two meet?"

"So in the middle of my junior year of college, I get a message from this really cute guy named Noah. I had no idea who he was, but I accepted the friend request anyway."

Max spoke up, "Do you guys have any mutual friends?"

Gabriella looked off to the side in thought. "I don't think so."

Max nodded. "Carry on."

"We started messaging back and forth and it just never stopped after that. He was always asking me about how I was feeling and how the boys were. He was super caring and supportive. It was so easy to fall in love with him."

Nev said, "Then what happened when you two tried to meet up?"

"Yeah, well after we had been talking for two years, I asked to finally meet him and he said yes. I told him to meet me at a coffee shop down the street from my house, but he never showed."

"Oh, is he from your area?"

"He moved to Palo Alto from New York around the time we were supposed to meet up."

"Wait…did he move there for you?"

"He said that he got a job offer first, but I think being closer to me was his main reason. He made it sound like because he was moving closer, we could get married and be a happy family after we met up. That's what's been so rough," Gabriella dropped her head. "I was preparing to finally give my boys a real father figure. This has been a huge letdown in more than one way."

Max said, "We're so sorry to hear about that. We really want to help you out. Do you have any suspicions about who he says he is?"

Nev said, "Yeah, we noticed how you wrote in your email that you guys haven't video chatted ever. What do you think about that?"

"I don't particularly like it," Gabriella confessed. "I knew once he first started avoiding getting on video chat that meant he could be someone different from the person in the photos. I think I've accepted that a while ago. It doesn't matter to me, I still love him."

"Wow," Nev said. "Is it okay if we fly out to San Jose and meet up with you?"

"Oh my Gosh!" Gabriella squealed, "Yes! Please do!"

"We'll be there soon, Gabriella. Take care."

The woman on the screen waved goodbye and Nev shut the laptop. He immediately looked towards Max with an uncertain expression.

Max said, "Well, at least she's being realistic with her expectations about his identity. She's not dumb. She knows that he's hiding sometime."

"Yeah…shall we pack up and head for San Jose?"

"Let's do it."

* * *

 **A/N: Thank you so much for reading! Why do you think "Noah" didn't meet up with Gabriella? What do you think they could be hiding?**


	2. Her Side

…

Catfish

 **Her Side**

The glitchy GPS took Max, Nev, and the documentary crew on a long and confusing route riddled with plenty of dead ends and U-turns. Eventually, the group arrived outside of the little suburban house that Gabriella had sent them to. The crew unpacked their gear and started recording Nev as he approached the door. Max stood by Nev's side while he knocked.

The door opened and the petite woman greeted them warmly, "Hi guys!" She hugged both Max and Nev and led the crew inside the home.

Alexander ran up to Nev and started pulling on his jacket sleeve to get his attention, whereas sheepish Benjamin hid behind his mother.

Nev crouched down the Alexander's height and said, "What's up, little guy?"

"Um," Alexander said, glancing around the room and pulling on his own ear as he spoke. "My- My mom told me that you - that you guys were going to help her f- find a man from the Internet."

"That's true!" Nev said.

"She- she didn't tell me w- why you guys really want to find him. So why are you l-looking for him?"

Gabriella intervened, "Alexander, why don't you and your brother go play dinosaurs upstairs?"

Alexander gasped and let out a deafening roar, then clumsily crawled up the staircase with Benjamin trailing behind him.

Gabriella turned to Nev, "I hope he wasn't interrogating you too much. He's awfully curious."

"It's alright," Nev said. "He's not nearly as bad as Max."

Max spoke up, "Just wait until we both get started on you."

Gabriella giggled, "Oh boy! Would you guys like a drink or anything?"

"I think we're alright. Do you mind if we set up and ask you some more questions?"

"Let's get to it!" Gabriella took a seat on her couch while the crew positioned their cameras on her and the guys.

Max sat down on the other side of Nev and began, "So when you and he first met-" Max paused once there was a loud thump followed by a scream coming from the ceiling.

"One second," Gabriella stood and crossed around the couch towards the stairs, "I'm sorry!" She called out behind her.

The guys and crew waited for a few minutes until the crying finally ceased.

"Sorry about that," Gabriella walked down the stairs. "You know, kids are such a blessing when they're not nearly killing one another."

Max asked, "What happened?"

"I guess Alex jumped on Ben from the bed when he was balancing on top of the computer chair, which he shouldn't have been standing on in the first place, and knocked him backwards onto the wood floor. He wasn't too hurt, just startled more than anything, I think. Nothing some crying in mama's arms can't fix."

Nev nodded, "Do they get to see their father, or…?"

Gabriella cleared her throat, "It's kind of a long story. Their father isn't in the picture."

"So you have full custody?"

"Yes, but their father doesn't know that I have them."

Nev furrowed his brow together in confusion, "Could you elaborate?"

Gabriella sighed, "It's kind of a long story. I was just a sophomore in high school when I got pregnant by a junior. I only told the father and my mom about it. My mom and I moved to San Jose because that's where a couple that would adopt the baby lived, which _was_ true, but after I gave birth, I couldn't just throw them off to someone else."

Max asked, "And you never told the father?"

"No," Gabriella said. "He has no idea. He probably still thinks that I gave them up for adoption. He has never reached out to me, either."

"Okay," Nev nodded. "Well, you're very strong for raising those boys on your own."

Gabriella shrugged, "Thanks," she smiled.

Max said, "You said that Noah was okay with the kids?"

"Definitely! He _embraced_ them. He sounded just as excited to meet the boys as me." She peered off into the corner of the room sadly. "It's just not fair to them. They deserve a nurturing male figure in their lives. I thought Noah would finally be it. I thought he would complete our family."

Max said, "I'm sorry it didn't work out the way you wanted it to, but I can tell you with a hundred percent certainty that you are more than enough for your kids. You don't need a man to make you guys a family. You alone are enough for them."

Gabriella's eyes welled up with tears. "Thank you, Max. It's just so hard thinking that something's guaranteed to happen and then it falls through. You start loving the future you imagine with them as much as you love the person, and then to have that goal never come to fruition is heartbreaking."

Nev said, "I definitely know what that feels like, Gabriella. I think a lot of people have experienced what you're going through. Like you said, it's heartbreaking. You deserve to know the truth. We promise we'll find you some answers quick."

* * *

 **A/N: Thank you for reading! Do you think Gabriella was right to keep Alexander and Benjamin without letting their father know?**


	3. Suspects

…

Catfish

 **Suspects**

Max and Nev raced off to the nearest, most hipster coffee shop and quickly set up their laptops and cameras to begin their investigation.

"So," Nev said, "Gabriella sent us photos, a number, and a profile link. Let's start with the profile." Nev clicked the Facebook link and was brought to the page of Noah Lewis.

"Looks pretty clean," Max said. "Oh wait." He pointed to the _friends_ category.

"Only fifty-two friends." Nev shot Max a doubtful glance.

Max nodded. "Something smells fishy."

"Should we reach out to the other friends?"

"We might as well." Max shrugged.

Nev drafted a message and sent it out to all of Noah Lewis's friends, explaining that they were doing an episode that might involve Noah and asked for any information on him.

Max suggested, "Let's look up these photos next."

"Gabriella was already pretty certain that this wasn't the guy she's been talking to," Nev said.

"Right."

"So let's just make sure." Nev grabbed one of the photos Gabriella had sent him and put it in the Google image search. Immediately, they found a match on an architecture blog.

"Daniel Smith," Max read, "amateur writer and architect enthusiast. So _not_ Noah Lewis."

"Nope, but we still have this. Let's run his phone number." Nev typed the digits into their search and waited.

Max gasped, "We got a hit!"

"We found something! Looks like this phone is registered under the name Chad Danforth."

Max said, "Well, let's search Chad!"

Nev searched for Chad Danforth and Facebook and declared, "Nothing is coming up for Chad Danforth in Palo Alto."

"What about in San Jose?"

Nev kept scrolling and hopelessly said, "It doesn't look like it, Max."

"Bummer! Well, at least we can confirm that it's not the guy in the photos."

"That's better than nothing. Let's show Gabriella what we found."

…

"Wait, _Chad Danforth_?" Gabriella leaned towards Max in anticipation. "Did you say Chad Danforth?"

"Yeah," Max said, "Do you know a Chad Danforth?"

"Yes! Well, kind of. He was Troy's best friend in high school."

Max asked, "Who was Troy?"

"The boys' father."

"So it's possible that you've been talking to the boys' father's high school best friend?"

Gabriella shifted the computer on the coffee table towards her and quickly searched for Chad Danforth in Albuquerque. "This is him!" She turned the laptop back towards the guys. "Do you really think it was him?"

Nev suggested, "Or it could be Ben and Alex's father."

Gabriella shook her head, "There's no way! That's entirely impossible."

"But is it? I mean, couldn't he have found you?"

"Absolutely not. I made sure of that. I don't use my real name online."

"Wait…what?"

"I put in a fake name when I joined Facebook. My profile is under the name Penelope Reynolds."

Nev and Max exchanged a confused glance with each other.

Nev was the first one to speak up. "Does Noah or Chad or whoever know that your name isn't really Penelope?"

"Of course! I let him know that pretty early on. I just don't want people from my past to be able to look me up."

"Well, evidently they could still find you, whether it's Chad or Troy or whoever. They found you."

Gabriella anxiously gnawed on her fingernails, "What do we do now?"

"We call him," Nev said.

"I doubt he'd even answer."

"If he doesn't, we can reach out to Chad."

"I think we should act like we don't know it's anyone from East High. I think whoever it is might run if they think we're close."

"Good thinking," Nev said. "I'm going to call. Everyone be quiet." The phone rang once, twice, three times.

The line picked up and the voice said, "Hello?"

Nev said, "Hi, is this Noah?"

There was a long pause before the voice asked, "Who is this?"

"Hi, my name is Nev and I'm from the MTV show Catfish. I'm here with my cohost Max and we're both with Gabriella. She reached out to us and asked for our help in bringing you two together. I understand that you both have been talking for quite a while and she would like to meet you. She has a lot of questions, would you be open to meeting with us?"

"Umm, when?"

"We're waiting for whenever it's possible for you, man. We're all here in San Jose, which as you know is not that far out from Palo Alto. We'd be willing to drive to see you as soon as we can."

The person on the other side of the line sighed and asked, "Okay, I just…I don't know."

"You and Gabriella have been talking for quite a while and from what it sounds like, the relationship was really important to the both of you. I can say that it was meaningful to her and that she really cares. She is very ready to meet you."

The voice decided, "I know it's been awhile and I honestly feel bad for standing her up. Alright, I'll do it. Can you be here in half an hour?"

"We're on our way." Nev disconnected the call and asked Gabriella, "Did you recognize the voice?"

She shook her head. "I didn't, but it's been so long. It could have been one of them. At least it was a man's voice."

Nev nodded. "Are you ready to go?"

…

Max sat in the backseat leaning forward towards the front to record Gabriella better. He asked, "How are you feeling?"

Gabriella scoffed in response.

"I know," Max laughed. "Kind of a dumb question."

"It's okay. I'm by far the most nervous that I have ever been in my life." Gabriella fidgeted with the buttons on her jacket, popping them in and out of their slits while her stomach cramped.

Nev turned the vehicle into the parking lot of a downtown apartment building. He parked it and walked around the car to join Gabriella. "It'll be alright," He threw an arm around the shaking girl.

Gabriella spoke, "I can't believe this is it."

Max stood a little further back and positioned the camera perfectly so that when the door opened a pole would block the person's face.

Nev stood with Gabriella on the stoop and asked, "Should we give him a call to come out?"

Gabriella hummed a flat note to herself to cope with the cramping in her gut. "I guess," her voice shook.

"Alright," Nev brought out his phone and called. It rang until it was sent to voice message. "Well, he didn't pick up." Nev pivoted atop the stoop, checking their surroundings for someone.

Max gasped, "Look!" He pointed past them to the glass door. "Guys, someone's coming!"

* * *

 **A/N: Thanks for reading! Who do you think it could be? Chad, Troy, someone else? Let me know what you think!**


	4. Identified

...

Catfish  
 **Identified**

Gabriella and Nev both turned back to face the glass door when Gabriella brought her hands up to her mouth and said, "Oh my God." She turned away from the door and began walking down from the stoop.

Max kept his camera on her and asked, "Who is it?"

Gabriella walked atop the grass towards the car and shook her head, "I can't believe it."

Nev called out to her, "Gabriella?"

She stopped once she reached the passenger door and looked back at Nev.

Nev waved someone inside towards him and the door slowly opened. A man with a short beard and trimmed, chestnut hair stepped out onto the stoop. "Hi," Nev said, offering out his hand. "I'm Nev. What's your name?"

The man shook Nev's hand and said, "Troy."

Gabriella spoke up, slowly inching back towards the guys. "Why would you do this?"

"Gabriella…"

"Why?"

"It wasn't to mess with you if that's what you're thinking. I would never do that to someone. I wanted to know about the sons that I didn't know you had."

"So you found out about the boys and decided to punish me with a fake profile?"

"This wasn't punishment."

Gabriella screamed, "So what was it, then? Was it just to know more about Alex and Ben? Did you really care about me at all?"

"Of course I cared! I wouldn't have talked to you for two years if I didn't feel something for you."

"But then you stood me up!"

"It- I- I just," Troy rubbed the back of his neck. "I chickened out. I'm sorry."

"I don't want to hear it," Gabriella tossed her hands up and walked back towards the car as Max followed.

Nev stayed with Troy and said to him, "We're going to go and give her some time to cool off. Hopefully we can talk again once tensions aren't so high and both of you can ask your questions."

Troy nodded, "Alright. Thank you, man."

Inside the car, Max rubbed Gabriella's arm comfortingly as she cried. "It'll be alright," he said.

…

The next day, Max and Nev took Gabriella back to Troy's place with the crew following close behind. The doorman escorted the group up to Troy's apartment. Nev knocked on the door.

Troy led the group inside past the kitchen and into his den where a magnificent view of downtown Palo Alto waited them. Gabriella timidly stuck near Max as they all took their seats and the crew set up.

Nev began saying, "So, Gabriella has some questions for you, as I'm sure you have some for her."

Troy nodded.

"So, I'll pass it off to her."

Gabriella swallowed and spoke up against her constricting throat, "How did you find me?"

"My roommate in college had a cousin who went to your school and when we were scrolling through their friends, I saw a photo of you. Penelope Reynolds."

"I only used a fake name to protect myself from being discovered by anyone from East High."

Troy gazed across the den and out the windows, "Why did you keep them from me?"

"I didn't think of it as keeping the boys hidden from you or anything like that. I didn't think I was stripping you of any opportunities by not telling you about them. I honestly thought and still believe that I was helping you by not dropping this burden on you. You were set to become a big basketball star. I didn't want to disrupt your path any more than I already had."

Troy nodded, "I wish you had told me. I would have helped you raise them. I could have been there for them since the beginning."

"I'm sorry. I didn't consider the possibility that you'd feel this way. My mother and I were so sure that they would just inconvenience you. I'm sorry, Troy."

"It's okay."

"What happened the day that we were supposed to meet up? I mean, we were talking about getting serious before it, but then it just all fell through. What happened?"

Troy let in a deep breath and said, "I had backed myself into a corner with the fake profile. I realized how impossible it all was that you wanted a life with Noah, but I couldn't be him. I thought about how this could really disrupt your lives. I thought you wouldn't let me see the kids once you knew it was me. I just really doubted everything. You know, maybe I'd be a shitty father. Maybe the boys are doing better without me."

Gabriella nodded understandingly.

Troy continued, "It's been really tough for me lately. I was so conflicted on reaching out to you because I missed you and wanted to know about the boys, but I didn't want to disrupt your lives anymore than I already have. Now that we've gotten some things sorted out, would it be alright with you if I met them?"

Gabriella instinctively smiled, but it quickly faded. "I want to give it some more time before that happens."

"That's alright."

Nev said, "Well, I think that we've made quite some progress today. How do you guys feel about this?"

Gabriella responded, "Good! Thank you so much for coordinating this."

Max said, "It's our pleasure, really."


	5. The Check In

…

Catfish

 **The Check In**

 _6 months later_

The video call stopped ringing and Gabriella's face appeared on their screen.

Max and Nev said, "Hey!"

Gabriella returned their greeting and asked, "What's been up with you guys?"

Max said, "Not much. We really want to know what happened after we left Palo Alto. Has Troy met the boys?"

Gabriella showed a large smile, "Yes!"

Nev said, "That's awesome! What happened between the two of you? Do you still talk? Are you two together?"

"Well, at first I kept my distance from him because of what happened, but he really proved himself by helping me take care of our sons. So now we're…" She held up the back of her hand to show off a sparkling engagement ring.

Max and Nev both exclaimed, "Whoa! That's awesome! Is he there with you now?"

Gabriella pouted, "He's at work right now unfortunately."

Max said, "Well tell him we say hello and congratulations to the both of you on the engagement."

"I will. Thank you so much for helping me. None of this could have happened without you guys!"

Nev said, "Don't mention it, Gabriella. Take care." He ended the video call and turned to Max. "I'm glad it worked out for them."

Max said, "Absolutely. Such a cute couple."

"While we're here, should we check some more emails? Maybe reconnect some more people?"

"Let's do it!"

* * *

 **A/N: Thanks again for reading! I'm so happy that I found the time to write this story. I had the idea for it way back in April 2017, but I had a couple other projects to wrap up first. Please let me know what you thought of this last chapter and/or the story as a whole with a review! Thanks again.**

* * *

 **MORE STORIES** **  
(in order of most recent to oldest)**

Too Good: If someone seems too good to be true, it's likely because they are. Troy Bolton is a respected doctor, loving husband, and caring father with one major weakness - Gabriella Montez, the innocent preschool teacher by day and pistol-whipping dominatrix by night. (Troyella)

Leave It All Abroad: Italy was supposed to be the place to relax, reset, and help an old friend. But who else Gabriella finds there could rekindle an old flame and expose a conspiracy wilder than her imagination. This month will be anything but a vacation. (Troyella)

Confessions and Consequences: Troy thinks he knows everything about his best friend Gabriella, but the one thing she never told him might actually destroy their friendship forever. Now that her secret is out, the two must endure the repercussions of unrequited love in order to keep everything between them from coming completely unraveled.

New Year's, 2006: Adrenaline junkie Troy Bolton is always up for the next big thing. He only intended to snowboard and play basketball on this family vacation, not sing karaoke in front a room full of people. What happens when fate puts him in the spotlight? Will he rise to the challenge, or coward away? (One-shot. Troyella.)

Where Courage Ignites: First I had to deal with yet another move, this time to Albuquerque. Then I had to transition from homeschool to a massive public high school. Just when I thought everything was finally falling into place, I was raped. Now I'm struggling to keep myself in one piece when all I want to do is disintegrate into thin air.

The Group Project: One day after school, the Wildcats pile in the Evans' home to collaborate on a group paper. When working together in such close proximity, conflict and romance is bound to emerge. (Five-shot. 10 major Wildcats!)

Long Island Medium: It has been six months since Gabriella and East High lost their beloved basketball captain in a tragic accident. In a desperate search for closure, Gabriella makes an appointment with a woman who can talk to the dead. (Troyella. One-shot.)

The Usual: Dropping out of college, moving to New York City, and finding affordable coffee were the first ways Troy Bolton tried to take his destiny into his own hands. With the help of his publishing agent, his best friend, and his barista, dreams of being a published author may actually become reality…as long as he finishes the story before the deadline. (Troyella, Zekepay.)

The Sacred Rays: Troy Bolton's life is split into two distinct parts. His past contained enough catastrophes to break him, whereas today's second chance has given him hope for the future. Will his experience with loss and self-destruction prevent him from trusting his heart again? (Troyella, Chaylor, & Chyan.)


End file.
